Parades, this year. The Cambridges spent their Christmas with Kate's side, but they still brought along their family coordination act. Accessorizing with a faux fur collar and the best pair of shoes she debuted this year was an instant upgrade for Kate's repeated Hobbs coat.

The rest of the fam marched to church at Sandringham without the Queen, who had a heavy cold. (Her Christmas broadcast has been covered at the Vault, of course.) I think they put on a fairly chic show, though:

I'm all for the Duchess of Cornwall and Autumn Phillips leading the way in their chic blue coats - and for some more extra fur at the collar. Camilla accessorized with her sapphire and diamond butterfly brooch.

Refreshingly ditching the coat in a cozy wool-blend knit dress from Azzedine Alaïa (per the Countess of Wessex Blog), the Countess of Wessex was a standout in red. The drama of the Jane Taylor hat - which I'll wager we'll see again at Ascot some day - makes the outfit without taking it over, thanks to the black color choice. Definitely my Christmas best. Et toi?

23 December 2016

Our year has been reviewed, and that means we're on semi-hiatus until the new year! Semibecause we will chat about the usual royal Christmas appearances, I'm sure, either here or at the Vault. (And there are 2016 wrap ups yet to come for the Jewel Vault, too.)

22 December 2016

All I can say for 2016 is this: thank goodness for tiaras. Yeah, I said it when we started this little wrap up, and I'm gonna say it again. There were few new things, but there were several unexpected things, and that's fun enough. (If you feel like wasting some time studiously reviewing the whole year in tiaras, click here to see all of the tiara appearances mentioned on the blog in 2016.)

More Cameo pieces for Victoria, the Connaught (as a tiara and - even more rare - as a necklace) for Madeleine, plus two new-to-her tiaras for Sofia! Once again, the Swedes did not disappoint in their big December show.

21 December 2016

Having taken a look at some of the sartorial achievements of our regular leading ladies this year, let's chat about other outfits that were 2016 standouts. Shall we?

Princess Madeleine at Prince Oscar's Christening

Anna-Lena Ahlström, Kungahuset.se

Once again, Madeleine ends up with a slew of outfits for the year that I adored. As much as I loved her princess-y Fadi El Khoury from the Nobel Prize ceremony, the one that will end up on my permanent favorites list is her take on the big sleeve trend at Prince Oscar's christening: a soft pink Roksanda Ilincic dress a gorgeous soft hairdo and floral ornament.

Just thought I'd report that my soft spot for this retro look - a Dior coat, with the perfect Rachel Trevor Morgan hat - has only grown softer. Love.

Queen Silvia in Germany

Kungahuset

How could I not include Silvia Baden-ing it up in Germany? Come on, she managed to pull a mega brooch out of the vaults that we somehow haven't seen in a loooooong time. Doesn't hurt that she did it in my favorite color, obviously.

The Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Denmark attended the annual New Year's gala banquet in January.

Mary's year always starts on a high note, and then it's up to the rest of the twelve months to try and beat her most formal appearance of the year. This one wasn't beatable. It's a classic Mary outfit, taking a previously worn ensemble (and a previous yearly best) and reinventing it by pairing her Jesper Høvring skirt with a blue velvet top and her Danish Ruby Parure. So dramatic, so good.

The Crown Princess and the Swedish royal family attended the Nobel Prize Award Ceremony in December.

Similarly, it's always up to the Nobel Prize appearance to best whatever Victoria wore the rest of the year, and it so often does. This is a classic Victoria outfit, a custom gown by H&M done in sustainable materials, and making the best of pieces of the Cameo Parure and the Cut Steel Tiara. So dramatic, so good.

--Crown Princess Victoria and Princess Estelle received the palace Christmas trees in Sweden. Estelle wore another dress saved from her mother's childhood.

Kungahuset

--And of course, Victoria, Daniel, Estelle, and Oscar are also offering you their Christmas greetings via video, as has been their annual tradition. It's not Christmas until we get this bit of cuteness:

--The Danish royal family also continues to share interesting content on their Instagram page. This week: a festive shot of their celebrations from Christmas Eve 1987, with Henrik on the piano. [Instagram]

I wasn't sure what to pick for Letiza's best of the year. She wore a lot of good stuff, including some repeats that have made my previous year end best lists, but we're looking for standouts here. (Zero tiaras for Letizia this year, by the way. You know I'm keeping score.) So when in doubt for Letizia's best of the year, I seem to default to the sublime simplicity of an all white outfit or to a Carolina Herrera outfit. Put the two together, and ta-daaaaaa, here we are.

Queen Máxima

Governor-General of New Zealand Facebook

The King and Queen of the Netherlands attended a state banquet during their November state visit to New Zealand.

The King and Queen of the Belgians hosted a return concert during their November state visit to the Netherlands.

Máxima and Mathilde often share one designer. Sharing a second - Jan Taminau made this dress for Queen Mathilde - is an even better idea. I say again, gorgeous. (Plus, there's a sneaky second tiara for the state visit in the form of her Laurel Wreath Tiara as a necklace here. Bonus points shall always be awarded for that.)

15 December 2016

The Swedish royal family continued to prove they are masters of the unusual tiara materials at the 2016 Nobel Prize Award Ceremony, with Crown Princess Victoria and Princess Sofia donning tiaras of cut steel. We've covered Victoria's tiara - the larger one and the more familiar piece, simply known here as the Cut Steel Tiara - in the past, but Sofia's still needs our spotlight. The Cut Steel Bandeau (the small cut steel tiara) features a lattice design beneath a row of steel studs. The piece has a pronounced curve, creating an inverted v shape on the head. The tiara is accompanied by a matching hair comb.

Though steel seems an unusual material for a tiara today, it was a popular and fashionable choice for jewelry from the mid-18th century through the Victorian era and beyond. Cut steel jewelry is made of steel studs which are faceted and highly polished until they sparkle like gemstones. Skilled craftsmanship was required to turn the utilitarian material into decorative pieces; unsurprisingly, both the quality and the popularity of cut steel jewelry declined as mass manufacturing took over.

These pieces are often not much to look at in photographs, but they sparkle like mad in action. If you caught any of this year's Nobel festivities live, you know what I mean. (You can check out the ceremony here, if you missed a chance to see these two cut steel tiaras come to life.) Another benefit: cut steel tiaras are extremely light in weight when compared to traditional gemstone jewelry.

SVT

The Cut Steel Bandeau apparently shares an origin with the larger Cut Steel Tiara, which the royal court reports was created for Queen Hortense of Holland (1783-1837) and which most likely came to Sweden courtesy of Hortense's niece, Queen Josephine of Sweden (1807-1876). (It's thanks to these two women that the Swedish royal family has such a large collection of Napoleonic jewelry; Hortense de Beauharnais and Josephine of Leuchtenberg were the daughter and granddaughter, respectively, of Empress Joséphine, first wife of Napoleon.) Kungliga magazine reported the bandeau was another part of the cut steel jewelry collection that belonged to Hortense. The inclusion of a matching hair comb would also be typical of a set from her era. The royal court has simply referred to the bandeau as a "private tiara" made of steel, which does not say much, except to imply that the tiara is not part of the Bernadotte Foundation that houses much of the family's historical jewelry.

So it seems that the bandeau has been in the Swedish royal collection for many generations. And yet it remained unseen until 2012, when Crown Princess Victoria wore the tiara to the Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg's pre-wedding dinner. Victoria has worn the tiara a few times, and has used it while wearing the matching comb at the back of her head. Princess Sofia is the second person to wear the tiara. Not only does the shape of the bandeau seem to suit Sofia, by wearing the tiara for an occasion that can be seen on video, she brought the Cut Steel Bandeau to life for me - and, I think, for many of you.

14 December 2016

Next up in our 2016 close out, we'll take a look at the best outfits of the year from some of the royals we cover here. Royal trips are often gold mines for those great sartorial moments. So take a bow, Canada, because you brought out the best in not one but two of our royal regulars this year.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, with Prince George and Princess Charlotte, arrived in Canada at the start of their September tour.

There were two Cambridge tours this year, which automatically gives us more best of the year candidates than ever before. I thought I'd go for one of the evening outfits, but in hindsight, I think the Canadian arrival outfit has the moststayingpower: a superbly tailored Jenny Packham blue ensemble with a maple leaf-adorned hat from Lock & Co. Prim and proper, but lovely in a thoroughly princess-y way. Also, it highlights a jewel on loan from the Queen - that diamond Maple Leaf Brooch - and she is continually delighting me by debuting new loans from the master vault.

Crown Princess Mette-Marit

MCpl Vincent Carbonneau, Rideau Hall

The Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Norway met with the Governor General of Canada at the start of their November tour.

I found this to be a quiet year on the sartorial front for our Norwegian crown princess - I confess, I love her most at huge events like royal weddings, and we were a little short on those this year - but she put together a lovely Canadian tour. The delight of seeing Mette-Marit in red is an easy pick in any year, honestly.

13 December 2016

All I can say for 2016 is this: thank goodness for tiaras. (And for birthdays, and christenings, and wee princes, and tea parties...) We're going to celebrate some of the good stuff that 2016 had to offer as we wrap up another year, starting with these highlights to make you smile:

The Swedish royal baby boom produced two new princes and two new family christenings this year, always delightful occasions filled with loads of hat-ish creations and a few sartorial experimentations.

Queen Elizabeth II Turns 90

BBC

QEII gathered her whole family for a service celebrating her ninetieth year, which also ended up being a delightful occasion filled with loads of hat-ish creations and a few sartorial experimentations.

King Carl XVI Gustaf Turns 70

Peter Knutson/Kungahuset.se

Meanwhile, the Swedes continued to kill it by inviting royal friends (and their royal tiaras) to celebrate King CG's seventieth. I do love a big fat royal gathering.

Prince George Meets POTUS

Kensington Palace

Prince George met President Obama while wearing his most dapper in toddler bedtime attire. Do I need to justify this pick on my year end list? No, no I do not.

Princess Madeleine Throws a Tea Party

Kate Gabor/Kungahuset.se

DITTO. Princess Madeleine turned her princess volume up to eleven to invite some children with serious illnesses over to the palace for a tea party. It was and it is my very favorite tiara watch of all time, and an ultimate highlight of 2016.

You wanted sparkle? Queen Silvia’s got your sparkle RIGHT HERE. She took on the daunting task of matching the incredible sparkle of the Leuchtenberg Sapphires with a disco ball choir robe, which she carries off with more gravitas than you’d think possible when the words “disco ball choir robe” are involved.

Crown Princess Victoria is here to single-handedly make you fall in love with the Cut Steel Tiara, that polarizing non-gemstone diadem. She realizes that she might have left some of you behind even after her magnificent Nobel 2010 appearance, so she’s giving it another shot with this bespoke H&M gown (yes, H&M). This is just so REGAL.

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She is again pairing the Cut Steel Tiara with the necklace, bracelet, earrings, and brooch from the Cameo Parure (another polarizing set). I love this pairing so much. It’s special for the occasion, because she’s not often allowed to use the Cameo pieces; plus, the styles fit together so well, since they’re approximately of the same time frame. (If I can whine for two seconds in the face of this gloriousness – and oh look, I can – what do I need to do here to get someone to wear the Cameo Tiara again, eh? Nobody’s worn it since Victoria’s wedding. It’s cruel to make me to love something and then take it away, guys. Whining over.)

I’ve been waiting for Princess Sofia to wear a dress truly geared towards showcasing the emerald part of her Emerald and Diamond Tiara. I’ve also been waiting for her to wear something other than that Emerald and Diamond Tiara. So, hilariously, she did both at the same time. Her bespoke House of Dagmar emerald green dress was paired with the Cut Steel Bandeau, a piece which we’ve previously seen exclusively on Crown Princess Victoria. It does suit Sofia’s head better than Victoria’s, even though it will never be a tiara highlight for me. She also wore the emerald and diamond earrings from Queen Silvia that she wore last year.

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(That green dress is such a great color for her, by the way, and yet: nope. I blame the sleeves.)

Princess Madeleine went full princess in the most Disney fashion, with an assist from a soft pink Fadi El Khoury ensemble with a big flowered skirt and a blouse top. Expressen reported that she was unhappy with the outfit and the tailors were fixing it into the early hours of this morning. If that’s true: WORTH IT. It’s my favorite Swedish designer in my favorite color for Madeleine, and it’s fantastic.

SVT

She wore the Connaught Tiara. This is another example of something special for the event – she was first allowed to wear the tiara for Victoria’s wedding, though she has used the drops on several occasions – and I think she wears it best of all the current Swedish ladies.

Tiara Bonus!

Countess Bettina Bernadotte af Wisborg

SVT

There were a few interesting head ornaments in the crowd. Here’s Bettina Bernadotte wearing one of her tiaras, topped by stones in multiple colors (here’s a closer look), for a little modern contrast to the older gems on display.

And finally, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded earlier in the day in Oslo, with the Norwegian royal family in attendance in coordinated blacks. From Crown Princess Mette-Marit and Norwegian designer Mariette comes...an eyelet hoodie dress? Sure, why not.

This is not a gala event - obviously - but that doesn't mean Mette-Marit didn't bring us some interesting jewels. Her earrings are what catch my eye, pricey new numbers in a friendly crescent moon crafted in gold and set with moonstone, black agate, purple chalcedony, and diamonds, from Venyx designer Eugenie Niarchos. They're a fun detail, and she's pulling them off.

While the Swedes get their gala on, the Norwegians go black tie. Crown Princess Mette-Marit stuck to Norwegian design with a dress from the brand Fall Winter Spring Summer (FWSS). It's a very M-M choice, what else can you say? I do like the added touch of her pearl headband.

Sweden: King's Dinner, Sunday evening

The Royal Family with Yoshinori Ohsumi and Mariko OhsumiPhoto: Kungahuset.se

The King hosts a palace dinner for the Nobel laureates in Sweden, and it's a second tiara event for the royal ladies. (Check out pictures here.) While Queen Silvia wore red and her other go-to Nobel tiara, the Nine Prong Tiara, we had more tiara interest from the princesses:

A photo posted by RoyaltyinArabic (@royaltyinarabic) on Dec 11, 2016 at 11:15am PST

Many (including myself) thought the Four Button Tiara would be Princess Sofia's first tiara from the family collection, and it turns out we weren't far off. This is way better than her look on night #1, I must say - both dress (from Swedish brand Stylein) and hairdo.

Crown Princess Victoria used Princess Lilian's Laurel Wreath Tiara, along with a repeated Jenny Packham gold gown. I want to like this one more than I do; it's very tall with most of her hairstyles.

Princess Madeleine really brought the tiara interest. She wore the Modern Fringe Tiara, her most predictable choice, but proved she wasn't ready to let the Connaught Tiara go: she's wearing it in necklace format! You can't really see it on top of her Valentino gown, but I don't mind. I'm just glad she piled it on.

Here's your open post for those wishing to watch the Nobel Prize Award Ceremonies live today. The gala ceremony in Stockholm begins at 4:30 pm local time (that's 10:30 EST). It's scheduled to last until 6:00 pm. At 7:00 pm the Nobel Banquet begins and this is also broadcast, so there's lots of time to check in.

Streaming is available via the Nobel Prize site and through Swedish broadcaster SVT. Livestream links:

08 December 2016

The Nobel Prizes will be awarded soon, and the gala ceremony in Stockholm is often the last big glittering event of the royal year. Many of you have already been guessing what we might see from the Swedish royal ladies in the comments, and here's a brief review for all: the last five years of Nobel sparkle, with tiaras galore.

Programming note: Ceremonies in Oslo and Stockholm will be held on Saturday, December 10th. Check in on Saturday for a post covering the festivities. That will be our next post, we'll be off on Friday.

Crown Princess Victoria:Baden Fringe Tiara and a mega gown by Pär Engsheden. This was Victoria's first time wearing the large diamond cross necklace from the family collection, and she wore the family's large diamond lozenge brooch in her hair.

Princess Sofia: She wore a little brooch in her hair with her Ida Sjöstedt dress, but no tiara since she wasn't married yet

07 December 2016

One of the nice things about the royal wedding dress exhibition at Stockholm's Royal Palace: they included the dresses worn by Princess Madeleine and Princess Sofia to their respective wedding receptions. They both changed from their wedding gowns when the serious dancing got rolling, but since those events were private, there were only glimpses from afar. Princess Madeleine's second dress was a surprising one, because we'd seen it before.

Rather than ordering something new, she went shopping in her mother's closet! She chose a Nina Ricci gown with a full tulle skirt and a bodice embellished with pearls, sparkling with crystals, and cinched with a satin bow at the waist. It's really the epitome of a fairytale gown, a perfect choice for a wedding. (See Madeleine in the gown here.)

Fittingly, Queen Silvia first wore the gown for another romantic occasion: her silver wedding anniversary with King Carl Gustaf, in 2001.

She gave it another outing that same year, at the Nobel Prize Award ceremony in December. She removed the bow at the waist to clear the way for her Order of the Seraphim sash and allowed the gown to showcase the blue of the Leuchtenberg Sapphire Parure. That's how you float down a staircase, right?

It was a sweet gesture from Princess Madeleine. And, hey, wouldn't you be dying to dig into the gown museum that is Queen Silvia's wardrobe? Naturally, this whole concept just gets me thinking about which gowns should be resurrected next...